On the Radio

Week of April 21, 2013

Photo by Mahalie

Scientific Revolution

04.21.2013

What makes a scientific revolution?  Thomas Kuhn said it’s when a new paradigm blows the old scientific model out of the water.  Fifty years later, we examine Kuhn's legacy, and talk with iconoclastic scientist Rupert Sheldrake, who says science is mired in untested dogmas. 

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  1. Rupert Sheldrake on "Science Set Free"

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    Extended InterviewExtended Interview

    Is science really open to every good idea?  Controversial biologist Rupert Sheldrake says modern science is mired in various dogmas - boundaries you're not supposed to cross, at least if you value your job and your reputation.

    3.576925
    Average: 3.6 (26 votes)

  2. Thomas Kuhn's "Structure of Scientific Revolutions"

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    Thomas Kuhn's "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" was the rare book that changed how we think.  On its 50th anniversary, historian of science Tom Broman talks about Kuhn's legacy and we hear excerpts from Kuhn's book.

    4.833335
    Average: 4.8 (6 votes)

  3. Margalit Fox on "The Riddle of the Labyrinth"

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    The clay tablets found at the Greek palace of Knossos had one of the strangest languages ever discovered.  Margalit Fox tells the story of Linear B - and the obsessed, tragic lives of the two people who devoted their lives to cracking the code.

    5
    Average: 5 (5 votes)

  4. Stephen Greenblatt on "The Swerve"

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    Stephen Greenblatt tells the remarkable story of how the discovery of an ancient poem helped launch the Scientific Revolution.  Also, an excerpt from Lucretius' poem "On the Nature of Things."

    4.833335
    Average: 4.8 (6 votes)

  5. Daphne Sheldrick on "Love, Life and Elephants"

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    Daphne Sheldrick grew up on a farm in Kenya, raised orphaned animals and later became co-warden of Tsavo National Park.  She describes the wonders of elephants.

    5
    Average: 5 (2 votes)

Food and Politics

04.21.2013
 (was 06.10.2012)

Imagine a farm five stories tall, powered by the sun, watered by the rain. Cabbage and carrots, tomatoes and eggplant grow on living walls. Tens of thousands of fish swim in aquaponic tanks. In this hour, the urban farm of the future gets real. 

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  1. Dickson Despommier on Vertical Farming

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    The future of farming may be up in the air -- literally.  Microbiologist Dickson Despommier's concept of skyscraper farming has excited scientists, architects and politicians.  Could multi-story farms solve the global hunger problem?

    4.25
    Average: 4.3 (8 votes)

  2. Will Allen on Urban Farming

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    In 1993, Will Allen bought a 2-acre plot of land in Milwaukee's inner city.  Today, it's the nation's pre-eminent urban farm.  Growing Power is a working farm that feeds thousands of local residents and helps develop community food systems.  Allen won a MacArthur "genius" grant for his work.  

    5
    Average: 5 (10 votes)

  3. Karen Le Billon on French Kids Eat Everything

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    In the U.S., a typical school lunch might consist of pizza or chicken nuggets.  In France, it's a four-course hot meal, which all students are required to eat.  When Karen Le Billon moved to France with her children, she -- and they -- discovered that French children do not snack, are not overweight, and "eat everything." 

    4.76923
    Average: 4.8 (26 votes)

  4. Jennet Conant on Julia Child and the O.S.S.

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    Before she was became "The French Chef," Julia Child worked in espionage for the O.S.S. during World War II.  That's where she met her husband Paul.   Biographer Jennet Conant tells the story of Julia's career in espionage, and of how the couple navigated the McCarthy investigations.

    4.4
    Average: 4.4 (5 votes)

  5. Aaron Bobrow-Strain on White Bread

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    A loaf of fluffy white store-bought bread may look innocent -- but conceals a rich political and economic history.  Aaron Bobrow-Strain charts the rise and fall of white bread and reveals what's really at stake when we argue about food.    

    4.7
    Average: 4.7 (10 votes)